How to Play Poker
New to poker? You’re in the right place! Poker is more than just a game; it’s a blend of strategy, psychology, and a dash of luck. As you continue learning more about it, you’ll notice the subtle and obvious differences between popular versions.
And in this guide, we’ll introduce you to some of the headliners in the world of Poker like Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Seven-Card Stud. Of course, we’ll also include long-standing favourites: Teen Patti and Chinese Poker.
So prepare to master the game one hand at a time!
Popular Poker Games: Basic Rules
Texas Hold'em
The rules and main point of Texas Hold’em can be best summarised like this: make the best possible hand with all the cards available to you. When the game begins, you’ll be dealt two face-down cards. These are called hole cards and no one but you will know what they are.
As soon as the dealing is done, players start making betsbased on the two cards they were dealt and the potential for high-ranking hands. This is done for several rounds. After the betting rounds are over, five more cards will be dealt in the middle of the table. These are community cards that all players can see.
Your job now is to combine the community cards with your hole cards to make the highest-ranking hand possible. The shared cards are dealt in three rounds— The Flop (first three cards), the Turn (fourth card), and the River (fifth and final card).
You can use all available cards to make your hand, it doesn’t have to strictly be a combo of hole and community cards. For example, you could disregard the hole cards completely and just use the community ones.
After this, if all but one player folds, that player wins the entire pot. But if two or more players don’t fold, the Showdown starts. Here, all players show their cards and the one with the highest-ranking hand wins.
Omaha (Pot-Limit)
Omaha Poker is relatively similar to Texas Hold’em in the sense that you need to make the best possible hand out of the hole and community cards, but it does have some key differences. Firstly, players are dealt four hole cards instead of two.
Then, there are five betting rounds instead of three. The Pre-Flop is the first round. Here, some players, the Blinds, have to make the best hand and others can choose if they do. The Blinds are the player to the left of the dealer (small blind-SB) and the player to the SB’s left (big blind).
The Flop, the Turn, and the River are the same as in Texas Hold’em. Finally, we have the Showdown where all players that haven’t folded show their cards. Since there are four cards dealt in the beginning, this gives you a lot more variations when you’re making your hand. The main thing to remember is that you have to use two of your hole cards and three community cards to make your hand.
Another important thing to note is that this explanation refers to PLO (Pot-Limit Omaha), as there are multiple versions of Omaha Poker. The minimum bet that is allowed is equal to the big blind, while the max bet can’t exceed the size of the pot.
Seven-Card Stud
While you still get hole cards in Seven-Card Stud Poker, the community cards are replaced by door cards. When the game begins, you’re dealt two cards facing down and one facing up (the door card). After you take a look at your cards, you have to decide if you want to continue with that hand or not. Seven cards are dealt in total, with three facing down and four facing up. Your goal is to find the best five-card hand from the cards you have.
Before the dealer starts dealing the cards, all players who want to play will need to place an ante bet. After all, you need to have something in the pot to compete for.
Indian Poker (Teen Patti)
Teen Patti is one of the oldest and most famous games in India and it’s very easy to learn. The game starts with three cards that are dealt face down. Before that happens, though, each player needs to give the boot— an amount of money the players agree on, to put into the pot.
Once the cards are dealt, players make bets on who has the best hand. The ranking is different to other Poker games, with Trail (three cards of the same rank) being the highest, and High Card (A-K-J is the best High Card, 5-3-2 is the worst) being the lowest ranked card.
One other thing you should know is that you can choose whether you’re playing as a blind or seen player. Blind players bet without looking at the cards and they can ask for a blind show when only two players are left. The stake amount (the bet placed by a blind player before the show) is the price of the show and it needs to be paid before the card reveal. If the hands are equal after the reveal, the player who didn’t pay the stake amount is the winner.
Seen players have three actions: chaal (bet), fold, and sideshow. If you ask for a sideshow, it means you want to compare your cards to the ones of the player before you. You’ll need to pay a double stake amount and the other player doesn’t have to accept the sideshow. If they do, the person with a lower rank hand must fold. If they don’t, the game goes on.
Chinese Poker
The game starts with 13 cards being dealt face down to all players. You will then need to take a good look at your cards and create two five-card hands and one three-card. You will also need to place them in specific spots, strongest to weakest. The best hand will go into the back spot, the second-strongest into the middle hand, and the weakest into the front hand spot. The three-card hand always goes into the front spot. You need to make your hands to fit these rules each time you play, otherwise you lose before the game even really begins.
At the end of each round, all players need to reveal their cards. Hands in the same spot are compared, and the players with stronger hands earn points. You can also earn extra points known as royalties if you have a really strong hand. Though there are different scoring types, the most common one is to award one point for each spot where your hand is better than the other players’.
When more than two players are in the game, you tally your points against each other player then sum them up and finish the round.
Poker Hand Rankings
Royal Flush
This is the ultimate Poker hand that beats all others in standard games. It’s a combination of a ten, Jack, queen, King, and Ace. All of the cards need to be of the same suit for it to be considered a Royal Flush.
Straight Flush
The Straight Flush is the second-best combo possible and beats all others. To get a Straight Flush, you just need five cards of the same suit in a sequence. For example, five, six, seven, eight, and nine of clubs would be a Straight Flush.
Four of a Kind
Having a Four of a Kind means that you have four cards with the same number on them and a fifth random card. The suit doesn’t matter in this case, just the numerical value on the card does. This is the third-best combo you can have in the game.
Full House
When you have a Full House, you actually have three of a kind and a pair in the same hand. So for example, three Queens and two Jacks would make a Full House. It’s a pretty good hand, as there are only three better than it.
Flush
Collect five cards of the same suit and you’ve got yourself a Flush. In this case, it doesn’t matter which order the cards are in.
Straight
The easiest way to remember what makes a Straight is to think of it as the opposite of a Flush. So, the point here is to have five cards in sequential order. The suit doesn’t matter. It’s also easy to remember since the combination of Straight and Flush is what makes a Straight Flush. Pretty straightforward, right?
Three of a Kind
This one is self-explanatory— you need three cards with the same number. You don’t have to pay attention to the card suit.
Two Pair
When you have two different pairs of cards of the same numerical value, you’ve got a Two Pair. For example, two eights and two tens would make a Two Pair hand. The suit doesn’t matter for your combination.
Pair
Think of this one as one level beneath Two Pair, as a Pair is only made up of a set of two cards with the same value. If you have two Kings and nothing else, that would be a Pair.
High Card
Even if you don’t have other combinations in your hand, you might still have a High Card. The highest-ranked card in standard poker games is an Ace, while the lowest is the two.
Where to Play Poker Online
Adda 52
This platform will greet you with regular tournaments and an excellent loyalty program. Adda 52 has an exclusive shop filled with instant bonuses, gadgets, and tournament tickets. On top of that, it has monthly promotions and competitions where players can climb to the top of the leaderboard and win prizes.
It’s better suited for those who already have some experience with Poker, but new players can also find a table where to practise their skills.
PokerStars India
PokerStars India is where you can find the hottest action. Start playing with a fantastic welcome offer of 100% up to ₹1 lakh and ₹1,000 in Spin & Go tickets that let you hit a jackpot prize. The package also includes access to Welcome Freeroll tournaments for 15 days!
If you become a regular player, you can also earn points each time you wager real money on poker. These points will help you climb the loyalty ranks and give you a personalised bonus each time you reach a new level.
Pocket 52
At Pocket 52, you can enjoy the best Poker versions including Texas Hold’em and Omaha. They have a bunch of different promotions to spice up your game, like discount credits (deposit and receive a buy-in of the same amount) and a loyalty program that’s coming soon.
You can also find regular tournaments and their schedules on the site. Though there are no freerolls, the minimum buy-in for some tournaments is still affordable at ₹2,200.
Parimatch Casino
Parimatch has over 20 live Poker tables you can explore. They also hold regular tournaments for pros and amateurs, with prize pools as high as ₹4 lakh. You can also look forward to a 10% cashback every Monday if you play Poker on weekends, and instant bonus codes that give rewards.
Poker Baazi
The selling point of Poker Baazi is that they have a lot of regular tournaments available for their players. Some are free, while others come with buy-ins. The freerolls happen daily and the prize pool comes out to ₹30 lakh. You can find the schedule on the website.
The other ones are part of the Baazi Value Series, and though they come with buy-ins, they’re actually very budget-friendly. The price starts from only ₹500.
Your Poker Rules Questions, Answered – FAQ
There are ten hands in online poker and we will rank them from strongest to weakest: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, High Card.
The specific rules depend on the type of game you’re playing. But the general gist of it is to make a hand of the best possible rank to beat other players.
The absolute best card combination to have in Poker iscalled the Royal Flush! No other hand can beat this one and it’s made of a ten, Ace, Jack, Queen, and King.
Poker may seem difficult when you’re just starting out, but it’s really not that hard to learn. Read up on the rules and practise, practise, practise. You’ll pick up on it more quickly than you think!
The best online poker game for learning the rules of poker is Casino Hold’em. It’s a live game and you play just against the dealer, so it’s easy to learn the flow of the game and the hand rankings. You can play it on most online Poker sites, including Parimatch Casino.
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